The 10-Second Version (AI Summary)
What happened: Elon Musk says Tesla will have to refund deposits for many Cybertruck buyers, because orders exceed what it can build before production ends in mid-2027.
Why it matters: A discontinued, polarizing truck with a price that just jumped could behave very differently in the used market.
What to do: If Cybertrucks come through your used inventory, price them with scarcity in mind.
AI-generated and reviewed by the ASOTU team.
Are people still holding on to Beanie Babies?
That was a weird chapter. Someday the Cybertruck may look like one too: a strange stretch of automotive innovation that kind of led to nothing. It also led to a lot, once you compare the auto market before the Cybertruck to the one after it.
We talked through what comes next on today's episode of the Automotive State of the Union.
Tesla will have to return Cybertruck deposits to "a lot of people," Elon Musk said Monday.
Tesla said Friday it will end Cybertruck production at Gigafactory Texas by mid-2027 and shift those resources to the Cybercab robotaxi. Musk has said Tesla will add an extra production shift to fill outstanding orders before the line comes down.
"We will try to make as many as possible before shutting down the line in about 8 months, but will have to return deposits for a lot of people."
Elon Musk, on X
Musk didn't say how many buyers will get refunds or how Tesla will decide who gets a truck.
How far did the Cybertruck fall short of Musk's projections?
U.S. sales: down 48% to 20,237 units last year, per Kelley Blue Book
Musk's earlier projection: as many as 250,000 a year
Cheapest orderable Cybertruck: up from $69,990 to $92,490 in about 10 weeks, a 32% jump
Promised starting price at the 2019 reveal: $39,900
End of production: mid-2027
What happens to used Cybertruck values now?
This is where it gets interesting for dealers. A truck that just went from $69,990 to $92,490 new, and will soon stop being built at all, changes the math on every used one out there. Owners who bought at the lower prices may be in a better position than they expected.
Long term, the Cybertruck looks like a collector's item. It's iconic, love it or hate it. Twenty years from now, someone will be hunting for a clean, low-mile one.
Paul saw that dynamic up close recently: a white Toyota Land Cruiser with just 17,000 miles, sitting in the garage where we shot our Auto Collabs episode. It's nothing fancy, and it's worth a lot of money because so few like it are left.
